Bridgeport
Hartford's 28% Chronic Absence Was Already a Crisis Before COVID
In nine years of chronic absenteeism data, Hartford School District never achieved a rate below 22.1%. The best year, 2017, still meant more than one in five students missing 10% or more of school day...
Connecticut Lost 10,640 Students in a Single Year
A year ago, Connecticut's enrollment numbers offered a rare reason for optimism. After 12 consecutive years of decline, the state added 18,643 students in 2024, the only growth year since 2011. Superi...
Connecticut's English Learners Nearly Doubled, Then Vanished
For 15 years, English learner enrollment was the one number in Connecticut that moved in the right direction. While the state shed 66,739 students between 2010-11 and 2025-26, a loss of 11.8%, its Eng...
One in Five Kindergartners Gone
Connecticut's 12th graders outnumber its kindergartners by nearly 10,000 students. In 2010-11, the two grades were roughly the same size. Fifteen years later, for every 100 seniors graduating out the ...
Hartford Lost One in Four Students, and Its #1 Ranking
In 2011, Hartford was the undisputed center of gravity in Connecticut public education. At 21,365 students, it was the state's largest school district, leading Bridgeport by nearly 1,000 students and ...
Connecticut Falls Below 500,000 Students for First Time in a Generation
For 12 straight years, from 2012 through 2023, Connecticut's public school enrollment fell. Then, in 2023-24, something unexpected happened: the state added 18,643 students in a single year, a 3.8% ju...